Overture
by Sopran
Summary: AU, UxM Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help and their friendship? HIATUS
1. Senshi

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru  
**Word count:** 1535  
**Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** AU, U/M Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Beta-ed by Nell. This is loosely based off of the plot of Princess Plan by Neonlights, though it will have a quite different path. I really liked the summary plot of it, but I wanted to try my own hand. So, I hope I don't completely embarrass Neonlights with this, and I hope any readers out there will like it. I have not yet decided if this will only cover the first season, or if I'll include any of the others. **Please keep in mind that this is based off of the _manga_, rather than the anime**, thus Sailormoon's uniform, which was in the first volumes of the series. The very first attacks have been kept for all of the senshi, and if you have any questions on the attack names, feel free to ask.

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**Chapter One:**  
_Senshi_

The city lights burned her eyes, bright against the inky blackness of the night. She replaced the white mask over her eyes, smiling slightly as she fixed it on her face.

The bun covers on her hair twitched, sending a cry of help into her ears as they vibrated from the volume. Through the mask's eyes, she saw a young couple huddled in an alley corner. She glanced around the scene, looking for landmarks so she could locate where the victims were. Unable to find any, and the urgency that had settled in her limbs increasing, she leapt off of the building top, instead trusting her instincts to lead her to them.

She cursed, watching through one eye as the man threw himself over the woman to take the hit, and searching for them through the other. She skidded to a stop as she caught sight of the youma whose arm reach back to strike again. Quickly and silently, she whipped off her tiara and powered it up into a sharp, spinning disk, launching it towards the monster as the blow fell across the woman's face.

The youma went flying into the wall, the bricks behind it crunching from the impact. She remained mute as she called the tiara to her hand, shoving it back onto her forehead. Her fingers touched the edges of the gem in the center, pressing onto it so hard that grooves dug into her gloved hand. A bright, blinding flash erupted from the jewel, causing the youma to shriek in pain as it's eyes became black, burned by the purity of the light.

Behind her, she could hear sobbing and moaning, glancing back to see the man clutching at his wounded shoulder. Ignoring them both for the moment, she powered up her tiara again, and flung it at the youma's throat. It was on its feet and slashed at her arm right as her attack connected. With a dying scream, the monster was decapitated, the remains dissolving into finely powdered dust that was absorbed into the ground.

The masked soldier finally turned to the victims, and pulled out a short stick that had a crescent moon stuck to the top of it. She took in a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly, and pointed the wand at the couple. Silver light shot out from the suddenly glowing moon, and the glow surrounded the lesions on both people, painlessly mending the torn skin and muscles. The wounds disappeared as though they'd never been made, and she smiled at them, wand vanishing into nowhere.

"You two should be fine now," she spoke softly, for the first time that night. "I would still recommend getting checked out, though," she amended, "in case I missed something."

The woman stared up at her, brown eyes grateful and in awe as she clutched at the man next to her. "Who are you?" asked the brunette imploringly. "I want to thank you, for all you've done."

She just continued smiling. With a thoughtful expression on her face, the soldier replied, "Just call me Sailormoon." The smile turned into an amused grin. "Funny name, isn't it?"

"Thank you, Sailormoon." The woman beamed gratefully. Sailormoon shook her head.

"I'm glad you're safe," she responded, and turned on her heel, jumping high and up onto a roof across the street. She bounded off, short silver cape billowing behind her in the wind.

Collapsing onto her bed, Sailormoon let out a tired sigh. She lifted her head to look at the still open window that she'd used to enter the room, and frowned. "I could get up and close it," she said to herself, "or I could go to sleep and freeze." As if to reinforce her observation, a particularly cold gust of wind blew into her room and she shivered.

"Fine, fine," she muttered, getting back onto her feet. She trudged over to the window and shut it quietly, hesitating as she stared out the glass. The moon was bright in the winter months; her mother told her it was because there wasn't much humidity. The soft beams fell on her skin, and she felt it warm, though she was aware that moonshine wasn't warm at all. Ever since she became Sailormoon, her satellite provided her with more comfort than it had previously. While she'd always felt an affinity towards the celestial object, it was only recently that the connection between the moon and herself became stronger.

She smiled at the moon as it hung in the midnight sky, and could almost swear she felt it smile back. Instead of thinking on it, she turned back to the bed. Her right hand grasped the brooch that laid on the bust of her armor, and she felt the outfit disappear from her form, melting into her school uniform.

Standing in front of her mirror, she stared at herself for a moment, as though looking for some change in her appearance. The same face stared back at her, with the same height and figure it had always seemed to be. The only difference she was able to discern was an increase in the length of her long, blonde hair, that had previously hung around her waist. With a frown, she noticed how it seemed to brush on the back of her knees now, and gave it an annoyed look.

She'd cut it tomorrow, she decided, casting her long looks a critical gaze and scowling. If it got any longer, she'd probably end up tripping over it on her way to school or, with her kind of luck, during battle.

With a shock - _shoot_, she had _school_ tomorrow - she looked over to her clock, which cheerfully told her that the current time was nearing two in the morning in blinking, red numbers. She cursed, and quickly shed her clothes, replaced them with pajamas, and jumped into bed. Flicking off the lamp on the bedside table, she turned on her alarm, and settled into bed.

Exhaustion flooded her body, the last remnants of adrenaline gone, and her eyes closed heavily.

Almost as soon as she'd fallen asleep, an incessant beeping filled her ears, and she groaned, turning away from the noise. That didn't help much, so she pulled the pillow from under her head and slammed it on top of her head. The beeping muffled, she began to drift back into sleep. Vaguely, she wondered why it was that her alarm was going off.

She shot up out of bed, eyes wide as she remembered school. She swore, shut off the alarm, and glanced at the red numbers that didn't glow as much in the morning sun as they had at night. With a sigh of relief, she realized that she had a good half-hour to run off for school. Rather, school _started_ in a half hour, so she got out of bed and pulled out a clean uniform, mentally reminding herself to clean the one from the previous day once she got home.

She hissed in pain as the wound from the youma, forgotten the night before, reminded her of its presence harshly. She clapped a hand to it and winced, heading to the connecting bathroom to bandage it.

After she was done with her hair (and resisted the urge to trim it right then and there) and all her other bathroom activities, she bounded down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

Her mother stood at the stove, eggs frying in a large, black pan, and she smiled at her daughter, brushing her blue hair from her eyes. "Good morning, Usagi," she greeted, and Usagi smiled back.

"Morning, Mama," Usagi returned. Her father looked up from his seat at the dining room table and through the open entry way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Usagi," he said, before taking a bite of his rice. "You're up early." Usagi laughed.

"Earlier than normal," she corrected for him. "Morning, Papa," she added belatedly. Her mother moved to place Usagi's food on the table, but she just shook her head and took it from the blue-haired woman's grasp. "I have to speed eat," she explained at her mother's curious look, and she nodded to her daughter in understanding. Instead of sitting at the table, she remained standing and just shoved the food in her mouth, swallowed, and put the dishes near the sink.

Usagi grabbed her lunch off of the counter, thanking her mother for it as she headed towards the door. She pushed the food box into her bag and put on her shoes.

"I'm leaving," she called, just as she was slipping out the door.

"Have a good day, and be safe!" her mother called back, and Usagi smiled as she shut the door.

"A bit late for that, isn't it?" Usagi responded quietly, amused. She shook her head, and took off down the sidewalk. A cursory glance at her watch told her she had ten minutes to get to school, and she deduced that she didn't have the time to take the bus, so she'd be stuck running, again. She mentally sighed, and just decided that this would at least help her stay in shape for fighting youma. Sort of, anyway.


	2. Friend

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru  
**Word count:** 2102  
**Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** AU, U/M Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Again, beta-ed by Nell. This was more of a filler chapter, and to introduce more characters. Usagi will seem out of character for reasons that will be explained in later chapters, as well as many other changes. Just take it with a grain of salt, please. Anyway, I tried to incorporate what I know of Japanese school systems into this, but if I'm insanely wrong with any of it, don't hesitate to tell me. I wasn't able to find much on the subject, and I wasn't entirely sure what classes they should be in, so. Again, chew me out if I made a moron of myself. (As far as I know, 'A' is the most advanced class, and either 'C' or 'D' is the least. I believe that they would be in year three, but I'm not certain.)

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**Chapter Two:**  
_Friend_

Usagi made it to the junior high building with three minutes to spare, then stopped by her locker to change her shoes and drop off a few things she didn't need (like a toothbrush - how did _that_ get in there?). After that, she rushed off to her classroom, in room 3-C, and slid into her desk before the bell rang. Her teacher, Haruna-sensei, stared at her in shock, and she gave the redhead a sheepish smile.

The day flew by, though not nearly soon enough for Usagi's tastes. Before she knew it, it was time to leave school, and there was an orange glow cast over the school grounds. She eagerly awaited the upcoming winter break, even though it wouldn't come for a few more weeks. She sighed, exiting the classroom and heading back to her locker to put on her street shoes again and pick up the miscellaneous items she'd left there. Usagi passed by a blue-haired girl on her way out, and smiled at her; she couldn't recall seeing the girl before.

The girl looked surprised, but smiled back shyly. Usagi paused mentally, before making up her mind. It wasn't as though she had any pressing issues until later that night, so...

"Hi!" Usagi greeted cheerfully. "My name's Tsukino Usagi."

"Hello," the girl returned, still bashful. "My name's Mizuno Ami. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, Mizuno-san," Usagi returned with a bright grin. "What class are you in?"

"Ah," Ami replied, uncomfortable. "Three-A. But," she continued hurriedly, "I'm not really smart. I just test very well." Usagi laughed, and started leading Ami out of the building.

"If you're smart," she assured, "that doesn't bug me, okay? Actually, I could probably benefit by hanging out with more smart people." Her voice was wry, and she rolled her eyes dramatically. As she was about to look at her new friend again, she spotted a black cat sitting on one of the sidewalk railings, waiting by the school gates. "Hey, look at that cat! Is it yours, Mizuno-san?"

Ami blinked and followed Usagi's line of sight. "Oh," she responded, "that's Luna. I found her the other day."

The cat, Luna, stared fixedly at Usagi, and she barely suppressed a shudder. She knew cats were _sharp_, but this one was just unnerving. She couldn't tell if it was just the light of the setting sun, but it looked like Luna had gold glittering on the top of her head in a very familiar shape. Usagi immediately felt suspicious, but then smacked herself mentally. Being suspicious of a _cat_, of all things! She laughed at herself, and Ami gave her a curious look.

"Eh," Usagi cast out for a reason for her laughter, "I was just remembering when my little brother, Shingo, pulled on this black cat's tail, and it attacked him. He was so badly injured, my parents took him to the hospital." She smiled slightly. "It's funny _now_, at least." Out of the corner of her eye, Usagi could _swear_ that Luna bristled, but she just wrote it off as an overactive imagination.

Luna jumped off of the railing and leapt over to Ami, jumping onto the girl's shoulder. She kept staring at Usagi, and the unsettled feeling in the pit of her stomach grew.

Trying to brush off the bad feeling, she turned to Ami and asked, "Mizuno-san, do you have anything to do this afternoon? I was going to head over to the Crown Arcade, and I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

Something in Ami's face brightened at the invitation, and she nodded. "I'd like that very much, Tsukino-san."

Pulling Ami along, she started down the street. "Call me Usagi, or Usagi-chan, okay? Tsukino-san is too formal." She grinned back at Ami. Ami smiled in return.

"Then feel free to call me Ami or Ami-chan, Usagi-chan."

"Sure thing, Ami-chan!" Usagi cried, dutifully ignoring the cat that situated herself in Ami's arms. She hadn't let up one bit on her constant watch over Usagi, and though she tried her best to ignore it, nervousness settled in her stomach.

Suddenly, she felt herself tumble to the ground, rolling onto her left. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Ami asked worriedly, leaning down to peer at her.

Usagi waved her off and laughed. "Yeah, yeah, no problem. I'm really clumsy, so this happens all the time." She grinned, inwardly relieved that she only fell on her good arm, rather than her bad one. "Don't worry. I probably tripped over a crack or something in the sidewalk." She jumped back onto her feet and pointed down the street, then cried, "Onward!"

It wasn't very long until they reached the arcade, and Usagi strolled inside, a happy look plastered on her face. Ami entered in after her, much more unsure than the blonde, who instead tugged at Ami's arm to make sure she followed. Absentmindedly, she reached into the bag at her side and searched around for spare change. Instead of turning toward the game booths, Usagi kept heading towards the counter, and lifted her eyes from her bag to meet those of a fellow blond.

Grinning, Usagi pushed Ami in front of her. "Motoki-kun!" she cried, the smile on her face wide. The blond man beamed in return. "This is my new friend, Mizuno Ami," she introduced, gesturing to the girl beside her. "Ami-chan, this is Furuhata Motoki. His father owns the arcade."

Ami waved at Motoki with a hesitant smile. "Hello," she greeted softly. He gave her a reassuring smile, setting down a glass and the rag he'd been cleaning it with.

"And just who is that?" he asked kindly, leaning forward to peer at Luna.

Ami shifted, "Ah, it's just my cat, Luna."

"How'd she get that bald spot?" Motoki inquired curiously, gesturing to the crescent-shaped patch on the cat's head.

Beside her, Ami coughed nervously. "I'm not sure," she confessed, "I only just found her a few days ago. I tried looking for her owner, but she's a little determined to stay with me." She gave the cat an amused glance, and Luna's fur puffed out.

Usagi's eyes narrowed, and the crazy thought that Luna understood entered her head._ Except_, she reminded herself, _that's not really possible_.

_Unless_, a small part of her spoke up, _Luna's an agent sent by your enemies_.

Internally, Usagi laughed. _Yeah, right._ Still, she was going to keep a closer eye on the discerning animal, since her paranoia was getting the better of her. She felt slightly annoyed, though; she hadn't been paranoid before becoming Sailormoon. Well, that didn't matter anymore. _That was the past, and this is the present_, she chided.

"-gi-chan?" Something was poking her shoulder. Usagi blinked in surprise. "Usagi-chan?" Motoki asked again, finger prodding her arm. "Are you okay?"

Usagi rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I was just spacing a little." Mentally, she shook herself, disturbed that she'd tuned them out like that, when she'd just resolved to pay more attention to Luna. She glanced over to the cat, and found eerie yellow eyes staring back.

Looking for a distraction, she glanced around the room, then snapped her fingers. "Ami-chan! Have you ever played _Sailor V_?"

Ami froze, then shook her head slowly. "No..."

Beaming, Usagi started steering her towards her usual console. "It's my favorite game," she informed her classmate. "You just _have_ to try it!" She turned her head to look back at Motoki and winked. He shook his head, grinning. "Motoki-kun, do you think you could bring us something to drink?"

"Sure," he called back. "The usual?"

"Of course!" Usagi laughed, and turned the corner, the counter disappearing from her view. Once she'd found the game, she sat Ami down in the seat, choosing to sit in the booth next to her so she could give her tips. "Okay," Usagi started, "This is how the game works..."

By the time Motoki arrived with Usagi's milk shake and Ami's soda, Ami was on the sixth level, blazing through the game. Usagi was surprised that the girl was so adept at the game, but she was rather good at it, too. Well, now that she was a senshi, anyway.

"Wow!" Motoki handed the girls their drinks. "Mizuno-san, you're really good that this game. I thought you said you'd never played?"

Ami blushed, and tried to hide it by sipping her drink. "I haven't," she assured him. "It's really fun," she directed to Usagi. "Your tips have really helped." Usagi laughed.

"I'm sure you would've done just fine without me breathing over your shoulder." Usagi pulled out her change bag from her briefcase, and took out the correct amount of yen to pay Motoki. "Thank you, Motoki-kun," she said, smiling, before sucking on the straw in her milk shake. "Ah! It's super-thick today!" she cried, wincing as it wouldn't come out of the straw and instead started using it like a spoon. Indignant, she ignored Motoki's snickering, and focused on the game screen again.

"Okay, in this level," she instructed, "Sailor V needs to save a bunch of kids from a you-monster," she corrected herself quickly, "And the boss is a giant clown-like thing, that spits fire from the top of its hat. You can dodge the attacks with down-B, and the only attack that really works on them is Crescent Beam, okay?" Ami nodded, and Luna's stare seemed to intensify. She scowled at the cat. "You know, Ami-chan, I love animals, but Luna really creeps me out."

Blinking in surprise, Ami swiveled around in her chair, picking up Luna, and whispering to the cat quietly. Usagi watched them, and an almost human look of indignance crossed Luna's face. She opened her mouth, but Usagi couldn't hear anything, not that she needed to. The cat seemed to be talking back to Ami angrily, and made a gesture towards Usagi with her _paw_, and the girl in question just kept eating her milk shake, trying to appear like she _wasn't_ trying to eavesdrop. It was times like these that Usagi wished she had her super-hearing that she possessed when she became Sailormoon.

Then Luna let out a loud meow, nearly startling Usagi in its volume. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ami wince and put the cat back down. She turned back to Usagi with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry," Ami apologized, "but Luna's a bit antsy around strangers." Usagi smiled in understanding, but inwardly thought that if there ever was a lie, that was it.

"Well," Usagi sighed, "there's not much we can do about that. Maybe she'll warm up to me if she's around me more." Ami looked surprised. "So, do you want to meet up here again tomorrow? I mean, I can't stay any longer - I have something to do tonight," she said, voice full of regret. "But this afternoon was really fun. I'd like to do it again."

"I," Ami started, before giving Usagi a strained smile. "I liked it, too. Maybe we could meet up again."

"Great!" Usagi clapped her hands together. She rummaged around her bag a bit, before taking out a scrap of paper and a pen. "This is my phone number," she informed Ami as she wrote. "You can call me whenever. I probably won't be doing anything." _Possibly_, a small part of her mind said dryly. Usagi ignored it.

Handing the paper to Ami, Usagi stood, grabbing her bag. "I wish I could stay, but I really have to go," she said apologetically.

_Do what?_ she asked herself. _Other than run away, anyway. I thought I was done with that._

_Patrol_, she said. _I have to patrol. I'm not running away; I am done with that_.

With a goodbye wave, Usagi left the arcade, unfortunately not missing Motoki's confused look, nor the calculating gaze of Ami's chilling cat. She shuddered as she walked down the street, feeling somehow upset by Luna. She wouldn't muse on it, though. She had work to do.

That thought in mind, she began to race down the streets of Juuban, blonde tails of hair waving behind her like ribbons. The feel of the wind calmed her, and she began to smile as she dodged between other pedestrians, laughing as she made a game of it. Usagi shut her eyes briefly, reveling in the whipping air on her arms and face, and was shocked when she abruptly stopped.


	3. Stranger

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru?  
**Word count:** 2060  
**Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** AU, U/M Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Beta-ed by Nell. I like this chapter, and yet I don't. It feels off. And just generally weird. I think it was because of my impatience to put some romantic crap in here somewhere. Ah, well. After a certain upcoming chapter (chapter... five?), there won't be as much for awhile, I think. Mostly because of Usagi's new attitude. : D cough Er. Enjoy, or something.

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**Chapter Three:**  
_Stranger_

With an 'oof!', she tumbled to the ground hard, wincing as her shoulder scraped against the pavement. A curse on her lips, she moaned. "Ow, ow, _ow_!" A hiss broke through her teeth as she sat up, clutching her arm. As luck would have it, she _would_ fall on her injured arm, wouldn't she? Usagi looked up through eyes hazy with pain, and mumbled a quick 'I'm so sorry' as she struggled to her feet.

The man she'd run into was giving her a dark look, and she glared back. "Hey, I said I was sorry," she said self-consciously, picking up her bag with her wounded arm, not daring to let go of the bandage. She could feel the palm of her hand becoming damp, and she would _not_ let anyone see her bleeding. Not right now, at least.

"You shouldn't have been running anyway!" the man was yelling. "What are you, some kind of idiot? You could've pushed someone into the street!" His words stung and that, coupled with the sharp spikes pressing against her torn shoulder, caused tears to rise in her eyes. She tried to blink them back, but it only served to assist them in falling down her cheeks.

"I said I was sorry," she repeated lowly, voice thick. "You don't have to be such a jerk about it." Usagi turned, swaying as she started walking home again. She nearly ran into someone else, muttered a quiet 'excuse me,' and moved closer to the buildings where there was less traffic. Her vision was blurred by tears and pain, so she was caught off guard when someone took firm hold of her elbow and started leading her away from the pedestrians.

When she looked up, she saw the fuzzy profile of the man she'd run into, and her face heated. "I don't need your help," she told him quietly, and he glanced down at her before looking back up.

"Sure you don't," he replied sarcastically.

Usagi blinked, unable to discern where she was and asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"To my apartment. You need that arm bandaged." He looked down at her again. "Otherwise, it'll get infected." At her scandalized look, he snickered. "Don't worry. I'm in med school; I'm not taking you there to perform illegal things on you."

She bristled. "You don't have to help me," Usagi assured, annoyed. "I can bandage it again after I get home."

"Again?" Usagi froze, then cursed herself for telling him that. "When did you hurt your arm before?"

"It's nothing!" He gave her a look, and she sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll let you bandage it. Then I'm going home."

He smiled wryly, "So nice to have your permission, princess."

Usagi tried to not tense at the sarcastic insult, but she couldn't help it. _There was no way he could know_, she assured herself. _I barely even know that, let alone some guy I've never seen before._ Her face became red again. God, she had to get away from him. _Just a little longer_, she comforted. _He'll change my bandage, and then I can go home, and I'll never see him again._

Hopefully.

She looked up in surprise as the strange man started leading her into a building. It was large, and seemed very prestigious. She was a little shocked that he lived here. She watched as he nodded to the doorman, giving him a smile of her own as the man dragged her inside. She tried not to stare in awe, wondering how on earth anyone could live here, let alone some med school student.

_Then again_, she mused, _he _is _a med school student. His parents probably have a lot of money, and can afford an apartment in a building like this._

Her thoughts were halted as the elevator jumped and rose, snapping Usagi back into the present. She felt ashamed of herself for not noticing she was already in the elevator before she had; some soldier she was. For that matter, why was she trusting this man? He could do anything to her, she realized, and she wouldn't be able to stop him without revealing her secret identity as a super hero. Why was she letting herself feel so safe in his presence?

A chill ran through her body, a shiver down her spine. She was too _vulnerable_, how did she let this happen?

"Don't worry," the man assured. Usagi looked at him in surprise, then realized he must have felt her shudder, since his hand was still firmly grasping her elbow. "I'm not going to hurt you. You can run out of here like you're being chased by death, _after_ I do something about that arm." He seemed to smile at her, but there was a trace of something in his blue eyes that caused them to darken.

"Why should I trust you?" she found herself stating. "I don't even know your name."

"Well, in that case," he was definitely grinning now, "my name is Chiba Mamoru. It's nice to meet you, though you might want to keep from running into people in the future. It's not exactly the greatest way to meet new people." Mamoru's tone was teasing, and Usagi felt her face heat again.

"My name's Tsukino Usagi," she returned. "It's nice to meet you, too. Even though _you_ might want to keep from being so rude to people who apologize to you." She huffed, and looked away, though some deep part of her was amused by what was going on.

"I think I'll call you Odango Atama," Mamoru mused to himself, but she could see him grinning out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious that he found the whole thing amusing as well. "You know, for your dumpling-shaped hair."

Slighted, she turned back, a frown on her lips. "They do _not_ look like dumplings! They're _buns_!"

Mamoru opened his mouth to retort, but just then, the elevator stopped, _bing_ed, and the doors slid open. Usagi gave him a triumphant smile at the startled look on his face. _He looks like he completely forgot where he is_, she gleefully commented to herself. A little sheepish, Mamoru tightened his grip on her elbow and tugged on it to make her trail behind him.

"This isn't over," he commented lightly as he unlocked the door to his apartment, and she just grinned.

"Sure it's not." _Like we're even going to see each other again after this, Chiba Mamoru._

"Quiet, you," he responded, amused. He pushed the door open and nudged Usagi inside, shutting the door behind him. Finally, he released her arm, and cold air kissed her sleeve and skin where warmth had previously been. She almost felt like a part of her fell away along with his hand.

_What are you _thinking she admonished herself. _Crazy girl!_

She stood in the entry way awkwardly as he moved around in what must have been his kitchen, by the sounds of it. She didn't dare enter, not without changing her shoes, of course. So, instead, she leaned against the door, and waited. A few moments passed in silence, and she felt out of place, only able to see hints of his living room around the corner of the hallway.

"Make yourself at home," she heard him call, and she hesitated.

"What about my shoes?"

There was a short pause. "Take them off, then, and leave your socks on. Sorry I don't have more slippers; I don't generally have people over." Frowning, she leaned down, letting go of her injury, and carefully slipped out of her street shoes, placing them next to Mamoru's own. Some significant emotion passed through her veins, but she didn't understand it. Not that she would bother to, finding it unnerving to be feeling anything just by looking at two pairs of shoes.

Unsurely, she walked down the hall, socked feet padding softly against the wood flooring. She looked into his living room, which consisted of a sofa, coffee table, television set on top of a chest, and two bookcases nearly covering one wall. Books were packed in the wooden cases, and more were piled near them or strewn over the glass table. Gingerly, she sat down on the surprisingly plush couch and fingered one of the book covers. Most of them were medical or technical books, from what she could tell - _for school, obviously_ - but there was also a lot of science fiction.

She'd just begun to flip through one of the novels when Mamoru entered the room. Usagi dropped the book in surprise, and hastily placed it back on the table. "Sorry," she mumbled, feeling uncharacteristically shy.

Instead of responding, Mamoru unloaded the stuff in his arms. There was a bottle of alcohol, cotton swabs, a bowl of water, hand towel, cotton pads, and a large roll of gauze. He uncapped the bottle while instructing Usagi to either lift up her sleeve or take off her shirt, if the wound was too high.

Red at the suggestion, she merely rolled up the arm of her shirt as high as it would go, holding it at the top of her shoulder. Carefully, she unwrapped the bandage, startled at the size of the bloody spot that had soaked through. The edge of the wrap was taken out of her hand, and she glanced up to see Mamoru focused on his task. Her blush, which had faded completely away, came back, though not nearly at the force it had been before.

Silently, Usagi watched as Mamoru tossed the old bandage and cleaned her arm, then rewrapped the injury after liberally applying the alcohol to the gash. His touch was surprisingly gentle, though she didn't really think that he'd treat her wound roughly after all he'd done already. No words were exchanged between them and, other than her sharp intake of breath when the alcohol-drenched swab met her arm, neither were sounds made.

She'd wondered more than once during the ordeal of whether or not she should feel uncomfortable in the situation. She didn't, strangely enough, feel anything but comfort and safety.

That, in and of itself, worried her immensely, and the logical part of her mind wanted to leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there was a part of her that _didn't_, and that worried her even more.

_Some soldier I am_, Usagi thought, disgusted. _I should be concentrating on finding more youma or whoever's behind this, not pining over some guy I'll never see again_.

Wordlessly, Mamoru stood, gathered his used equipment, and disappeared down the hall again. Usagi stared after him for a moment, before she realized that she could finally leave. Wanting to go immediately, but unable to bear the thought of disappearing without a goodbye, she tore off a piece of paper from a notepad that was on the table and quickly scribbled a grateful farewell. As an afterthought, she drew a little chibi of herself and a heart, then shoved the pen back in her bag. She put the scrap of paper where she'd been sitting and quickly fled the apartment.

As she hurried down the stairs, the urgency to leave convincing her to not wait for the elevator, she knew that any second, he'd find her note. Somehow, she was saddened by the fact that he probably wouldn't bat an eye at it.

_Get a grip on yourself_, she told herself harshly as she escaped the front doors of the building. _You spent too much time around that man, and the sun's set. Mama is going to be angry, and then you'll have _that_ on your conscience when you sneak out to look for attacks. Moron. Stop feeling so weird._

No matter how much she told herself she shouldn't, her mind kept returning to the apartment way up in the sky.

Had it been a dream? She shivered as she tore down the streets. No, of course not, not if the twinging pain in her arm had any say.

But her mind felt muddled and sluggish, so she barely registered her house looming before her. Usagi stood outside the door as the sun continued to set, and a chill crept over her body.

"Where is that girl?" she heard her mother's voice demand angrily.

At the sound, Usagi snapped out of her stupor and steeled herself against her mother's rage.


	4. Moon

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru?  
**Word count:** 2456  
**Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** AU, U/M Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Beta-ed by Nell. Okay, this chapter gave me some trouble, and I'm really unsatisfied with it. This was basically the, "Hey, I'm going to explain some stuff!" chapter, and I didn't pull it off to meet my own happiness. Too much telling, not enough showing, I think. When I figure out a better way to handle it, I'll repost. But, as is, this is also the birth of Mercury! I love Mercury. : D Bookworms are love. Expect to see more Mercury action before Mars makes her appearance (which she will. Eventually).

* * *

**Chapter Four:**  
_Moon_

With a gasp, Usagi's eyes snapped open, and she found herself standing in the middle of a large room. Everything was silver, white, and gold, except for the towering crystal structure before her. At the base was a kneeling woman, head bowed and silvery lavender hair spilling around her. Usagi was shocked to see the woman with her very same hairstyle, and took a step back in disbelief. Where was she?

The woman started at the sound of Usagi's heels clicking on the floor, standing gracefully to turn and face her. Her hair dragged on the floor as she walked towards Usagi, and on her forehead was an upturned, gold crescent moon that had small pearls on the sides that disappeared into her hairline. She had large, blue eyes that smiled down at Usagi, lips quirked into a grin of their own. Her long, silky white gown covered her feet and trailed behind her in a train. In the center of her chest was a large, silver-white bow, held together by a larger crescent moon, a cousin to the one on her head.

"Serenity," the woman spoke softly, the upturned line of her mouth widening into something beautiful. Usagi was taken back by the sight, but confusion set in faster than awe.

"Who?"

The look on the woman's face flickered briefly.

"Oh, my darling," she sighed, reaching a hand out to cup Usagi's face. "You've forgotten. I should have expected this," she conceded, and her eyes became disappointed. "I have just been hoping you wouldn't." She let go of Usagi's cheek and smiled again, though it was tinged with sadness. "I'm Queen Serenity, of the Silver Millennium. I ruled on the satellite of the Earth, the Moon, and you were my daughter, Princess Serenity."

Blinking, Usagi faintly shook her head. "I think I'm dreaming," she whispered vaguely, staring at the woman in shock. She blew a strand of hair from in front of her face when it fell into her vision. Then she froze, and reached up to her head, grasping the locks that made up her tails and stared disbelievingly at them.

Her hair was silver.

Something within her snapped, and her mind reeled. _No. No, no, no!_ Some deeply buried feeling of panic bubbled to the surface before she could think of the reason.

With a cry, she stumbled back, nearly tripping over the skirts of the long, white gown she was dressed in, shaking her head. "This is a dream, right?" she asked, desperate. "This is a _dream_, right?"

The woman, Queen Serenity, grabbed her shoulders, a concerned look blooming across her face. "Serenity?" Her voice was worried. "Serenity, are you all right?"

Usagi stopped squirming, and just looked up at Serenity, suddenly very afraid. "Please tell me this is a dream!" she cried, pleading. She was shaking with some uncontrollable fear, and her terrified eyes darted across the room. Something inside denied it all, and she felt as though her heart would break if she believed anything Serenity told her.

An expression of understanding flitted over Serenity's face, and she wrapped her pale arms around Usagi's body, rocking her back and forth, whispering comforting nonsense words.

"I'm sorry, my dear," Serenity murmured. "I thought you were ready for this, but I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"Ready for what?" Usagi asked, still trembling, though she honestly didn't want to know. She didn't want to know anything.

Serenity pulled back and looked her in the eye. "The truth." She leaned forward and kissed Usagi's brow, and Usagi felt heat erupt under the Queen's lips, in the same shape as the one on the woman's corresponding head. "My darling," the Queen sighed. "For now, I want you to stay calm, and I'll tell you enough for you to grasp the situation."

Usagi nodded slightly, knuckles white as she clenched the fabric of her dress. The Queen eyed her compassionately and wrapped her thin arms around Usagi's slight form.

"I'm sorry," Serenity murmured again. "Maybe you'd be more prepared if you were awakened as a Soldier first. After you'd fought some." She sighed. "Well, there's nothing that can be done now." She gave Usagi a hard look.

"I know this will probably be hard for you to accept, but you were my daughter, in a previous life. While I'm bound from revealing to you all of the details at the moment, I can tell you that you and everyone you cared about were involved in a terrible battle." She looked at Usagi sadly. "You died, back on the Moon. But now, in this life, you have the ability to fight back, and finish this war once and for all."

Usagi shivered and averted her eyes. "Why?" she choked, as though something was stuck in her throat. "Why am I so afraid?"

Smoothing Usagi's hair absentmindedly, Serenity turned her eyes to stare somewhere into the distance. "I think the part of you that was my daughter wishes to remain dead," she admitted. "She wants to forget and remain unknowing. Even though it's no longer an option, my Serenity wants to sleep forever, and she will likely remain that way until she can see the need for action."

As the Queen moved away, Usagi clutched at her own arms, shivering with something akin to terror. Her hands shook uncontrollably, as a physical manifestation of her denial. The thought of the Princess being somewhere inside her frightened her; she was Usagi, wasn't she? She had always been Usagi. She'd never been some legendary princess of the Moon, and she didn't want to be. Sure, as a child, what girl didn't wish to be a princess, even fleetingly? Now, though, all she wanted to be was Usagi. She didn't know who this Princess was, and she didn't want to.

Serenity cupped her hands and her eyes slid closed, a soft glow emitting from her palms. The light died down, and the Queen grasped a large brooch, holding it out for Usagi to take.

"This brooch will allow you to become a Sailor Soldier, a warrior, so that you may battle against your killers." Serenity told her of the rebirth of Usagi's enemy as well as Usagi's own, how they would undoubtedly come after her so that they may finally dispose of her. She told Usagi of a power that lived deep inside Usagi's heart, and that her enemies would be after it.

Some vague part of Usagi cried out against it, but she forced herself to listen.

"Now," Serenity continued, "you do have a choice. You can either accept your standing as a princess and a soldier, and take this brooch from me. Or you can decide to deny everything, and this whole thing will fade away from your memory like a dream." Her eyes nearly pleading, the Queen said, "I beseech you to think about this before choosing. You have plenty of time to think about it; while you're here, time in your world has stopped. Don't make a rash decision."

Throat thick and clogged, Usagi turned away from the Queen's imploring gaze, and stared out at the crystal tower as though it would give her comfort. Of course she was having a hard time believing this. It had to be a dream - things like this didn't happen in real life. She was Usagi, a clumsy school girl with bad grades. She wasn't a princess or a soldier, no matter what the so-called Queen told her. It just couldn't be real. No possible way, right?

When she noticed her breaths becoming short and shallow, Usagi tried to calm herself, tried to breathe deep and gulping. _Okay_, she told herself, _I can think about this rationally._ So, for the first time, she decided to humor the woman, and pretend as though this business was the truth, despite every gut reaction to turn tail and run. _Okay, so, if I'm the princess_, she mused, _then this is my responsibility, I guess. I mean, if she's coming to me, it has to be. The question is, what am I going to do about it?_

She sighed. On the one hand, she could ignore it and go back to living how she had been. But, she recalled, brows creasing as she became bothered, if she was being called on now, then whoever killed her must be back already, must have their powers already. If that was the case, they would definitely be after her, regardless of whether or not she could protect herself. She also ran the risk of her enemy having the ability to wipe out the human race on Earth, as they obviously had on the Moon.

So, on the other hand, she could take this responsibility on her own. The only problem with that was - if all this was true, at least - that she could potentially die, again. Sure, being a Sailor Soldier might have some perks (though, she couldn't think of any at the moment), and maybe she'd know how to fight or something, but... Usagi shook her head. If she didn't, people might die, including herself. If she did, people might die, as well as herself.

_But if I did_, spoke her mind traitorously, _then I might win. And no one would die_.

Exasperated, she let her head fall against her palm. Could she live with the knowledge that she could've done something while everyone around her died?

Well, that answered the question.

The part of her that panicked at the thought of everything being true fluttered wildly, and Usagi swallowed hard, blinking back irrationally frightened tears.

Steeling herself, she turned back to Serenity and gave the woman a hard look. Her hands fidgeted with the cloth of her skirt, absently stroking the softness of the fabric as the implications of her decision settled in her mind. Across from Usagi, Serenity waited patiently for her daughter - _wow, that will take some time to get used to_, thought Usagi vaguely - to announce the choice.

"What do I have to do?" asked Usagi, voice filled with determination. A bright, relieved smile broke across the Queen's face and she strode forward to embrace Usagi.

"I knew you'd do the right thing," were the whispered words in her ear before the tall woman released her. Again, Serenity held out the seemingly innocent brooch.

Usagi grasped it.

Shaking her head, Sailormoon blinked harshly, dispelling the memory from her head. Now was not the time to be dwelling on past decisions, she decided, hard gaze sweeping across the city scene. Absently, her hand covered the brooch that lay on her bust and her eyes narrowed.

She bounced from one building top to another, glancing down into alleys as she passed. Keeping an eye out for any disturbances, she passed over one of the prestigious cram schools, and her bun covers shrieked at her. Wincing, she tapped the side of her mask and watched as the scene unfolded before her eyes. Somewhere inside the school, a youma was attacking in one of the computer labs.

Almost cursing, Sailormoon jumped to the ground and raced up the stoop.

When she arrived, the walls were riddled with holes, sharp strips of paper jutting out dangerously. She looked around to see the students passed out on the floor, except for one lone girl in the back. Powering up her tiara, she flung it at the youma who was attacking the girl, and was only mildly satisfied when it missed, but halted the monster in its assault. The girl, she noted, scrambled out from under it, and ran towards Sailormoon.

The youma followed closely behind, however, and the girl gave a shriek as she threw herself to the ground. With a jolt, Sailormoon realized that the girl looked and sounded entirely too familiar.

_Ami!_ her mind cried as she recognized her new friend, and she quickly called her tiara to her hand. Seeing that Ami was out of her Twilight Flash's view, she let the gem's bright light burst from the tiara on her forehead, blinding the youma.

Suddenly, she heard Ami's voice cry, "Mercury Power, Make Up!" Her eyes widened in shock as Ami, fitted from head to toe in Soldier garb, stood from her hiding place.

"Shabon Spray!"

A thick mist flooded the room, and Sailormoon swore when her vision was suddenly impaired. _Ami, you moron_, she hissed mentally, _the youma was already blind. All you've done is put us all on the same level again!_

She could vaguely see a shadowed shape in the mist, but determined it to be Ami, since it was too short for the youma. Glancing around, she walked around carefully, wary of both the student on the floor and the sharp paper still sticking out from the walls. She heard a gasp of pain and realized that Ami must've fallen onto one of papers, nearly groaning as she turned around and headed back to Ami.

Ami's form became visible, and she was kneeling on the ground, holding her forearm as her white gloves were stained with blood. Sailormoon leaned down to frown at Ami.

"Look," she started, watching as Ami's startled gaze met her own eyes, "I appreciate the help. Really, I do. But I'd already blinded the youma before you used your attack. You need to be more careful, too. Didn't you realize that the monster's weapons were still in the wall?"

Ami flushed, looking down in shame. "Sorry," she apologized. "I don't mean to be a bother."

Sailormoon sighed quietly, and kept her voice low as she began to speak again. "It's all right. You can call me Sailormoon," she told her friend, unwilling to let the girl know her real name, even though they knew each other already. It was the first time she was thankful for the Soldier fuku's ability to mask her features so she couldn't be recognized. Well, not unless the person knew it was her, and she wasn't about to tell anyone, let alone some new friend she made.

A part of her ached at the thought.

"I'm Sailormercury," Ami responded, a light entering her eyes behind the blue visor. Sailormoon grinned at her.

"Nice to meet a fellow Soldier. Now, do you think you could get rid of the mist, please?"

Blushing again, Ami stood, cupping her hands in front of her. The mist receded into her palms, clearing the room so that Sailormoon could see again.

"Thanks, _mon ami_," she said cheekily, smirking as Ami's face paled. She didn't know French very well - though she was taking classes (along with English, but that was a requirement) - but she knew enough to understand both meanings to the statement. "Now, I think it's time to take care of that youma, don't you?"


	5. Spy

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru  
**Word count: **1813**  
Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** AU, U/M Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Beta-ed by Nell. This one was fun to write. Really. And there _is_ a reason for the distiction with Usagi/Sailormoon and the lack of one for Ami/Mercury. I promise. But you'll have to wait to find out. Obviously.

* * *

**  
Chapter Five:**  
_Spy_

The tiara hit its intended target, and the youma dissolved into dust as the weapon flew back to Sailormoon's hand. A small, triumphant smile graced her face, and she returned the jewelry to its natural place.

She turned back to Ami, who was standing behind her, still clutching her wounded arm. With a frown, Sailormoon pulled out her crescent wand, then pointed it at her friend's arm. A familiar power rushed through her veins as silver light touched Ami's gloved appendage. The injury sealed, blood disappearing, though the torn fabric wasn't mended. Ami stared at her in shock, but Sailormoon turned away from her, giving the unconscious students a critical gaze.

Decision made, she raised her wand above her head, and the healing silver light was sent in all directions, sinking into the bodies of the students. Wordlessly, as they began to stir, she vanished the wand and exited into the hall, knowing Ami would follow her.

"How did you do it?" Ami asked softly as they left the building. "I mean, without words."

Remembering the short training she'd received from Serenity after she'd taken the brooch, Sailormoon smiled. "I was taught," she responded vaguely. Without looking, she knew Ami was frowning, but she didn't feel the need to elaborate.

Ami opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a cat's hissing. Luna jumped out from the shadowed sidewalk and onto Ami's shoulder, startling the young soldier. Sailormoon raised an eyebrow.

"Who's the cat?" she asked brusquely, trying to act less like herself in case Ami had inklings of who she really was.

"Luna," was the response. Curiously enough, the words were not spoken by Ami, but by the cat herself. Internally, Sailormoon smirked, knowing somehow that Luna was no normal cat.

"I wasn't aware that cats could talk," said Sailormoon flippantly.

If cats could scowl, Luna surely did. "What do you want? I've never heard of a Soldier of the Moon before. Why are you here?" Sailormoon raised her eyebrow again at the interrogation.

"What do I want? To stop the Dark Kingdom, of course. That's also why I'm here." Luna's eyes narrowed. "Er. Am I supposed to want something else? Why are _you_ here, kitty cat?"

"To find the Princess, of course!" Luna hissed, indignant. Sailormoon blinked.

"What's she got to do with anything?"

"Everything!" the cat exclaimed, shocked and outraged. "Who do you think is the only one with the power to stop the Dark Kingdom?" Ami silently held the raging cat, watching the exchange inquisitively.

"I'd been planning on doing that myself, actually," Sailormoon replied dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why do you think only she'll be able to stop them, little kitty?"

Luna bristled. "Because," she responded lowly, "she's the only one who can use the Silver Crystal!"

_Silver Crystal?_ Sailormoon's mind asked, the word alien and yet familiar at the same time.

Huffing, Luna narrowed her eyes. "You understand nothing."

"I know more than _you_ do," Sailormoon shot back. "_I_ know where the Princess is. And no, I _won't_ tell you," she continued, halting Luna's eager question.

"Just how do _you_ know that and I don't?" Luna sounded offended.

Ami gave Sailormoon a curious look. "That's actually a very good question, Luna. How _do_ you know where she is?"

Thinking fast, she grasped for straws, unwilling to let the cat know who she was just yet. "I'm, uh, her guardian." _Great going, Tsukino._ "So of course I know where she is. The Queen woke me so I could protect her while she trained, obviously." She looked away and tried to look annoyed. "Not that it's any of _your_ business."

"The Princess _is_ my business!" She looked back; both Ami and Luna looked hurt. "I'm supposed to be her guardian. I've _always_ been her guardian," the cat mumbled, more to herself than anyone else. "The Queen..."

"The Queen's plans changed." Sailormoon fixed a stern gaze on Luna. "I was chosen to protect her. You may have been her advisor and protector before, but I am now." _I don't _need_ a guardian, thank you very much_, she continued in her head, hurt that the Queen had wanted someone to watch over her when she was perfectly capable of doing so herself. "Besides, talking to her right now might not be the best. She doesn't really know much outside of the fact that she's the Princess, and I assure you that she wouldn't be able to remember you." She sent the cat a pointed look.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," she dismissed. As she turned to go, she paused, and then looked back to Ami.

"Do you have a communicator?" asked the blonde, taking out her own, neon pink device as an example. To her relief, Ami nodded. "Good. Press the moon symbol to contact me. Oh, don't worry about your identity," she added, seeing Ami's worried look. "You have to press the accept button before anyone's face shows up, so you can transform quickly before answering. That's what I'll be doing." Still, she gave the other girl a small smile. "Maybe we'll talk freely one day, but for now, I think it's best if I stay separate from the rest of you."

_I don't need you holding me back_, was what she really meant. In battle, she didn't need to worry about the welfare of anyone but herself and the victims - worrying about fellow soldiers might lead her to do something stupid.

Though, she'd probably do that, anyway.

"Rest of us?" Ami echoed, confused. Sailormoon grinned.

"You'll see what I mean, when you meet them. Which I'm sure you will," she said, looking directly at Luna. Before Luna could react, she turned on her heel and bid her fellow warrior a good night, disappearing into the streets of Tokyo.

* * *

Leaning back against her wall, Usagi let out a heavy sigh. It wasn't that she didn't like Ami, she reassured herself, but she just didn't trust her enough. Not yet, anyway. _Still_, she thought wryly, _a friendship built on lies isn't the most stable of relationships._ Of course, Ami would keep this from her, as well. Frowning, Usagi decided that she'd tell Ami about her secret occupation after Ami did the same.

That Luna was unnerving, to say the least. She wasn't exactly sure what possessed her to lie to someone that obviously knew more of the past than she did. That wasn't to say that she _regretted_ it, because she didn't; not really, anyway. Still, she could've gotten some more information from the cat while she was there. Usagi felt ready for it, now that she was more adjusted to her new purpose.

Sighing once more, she flopped herself onto her bed heavily, bouncing back up from the springs. Unbidden, the image of Mamoru rose in her mind, and Usagi's face turned red. She groaned, and buried her head into her pillow.

"Stop thinking about him," she told herself, voice muffled. "You won't see him again, so stop pining. Besides, you have more important things to worry about, such as your _enemies_."

Still, when she looked back up at her ceiling, she was frowning. She couldn't get the man off of her mind, and it was driving her crazy. _Like anything could happen anyway,_ she reminded herself. _The guy's at least four years older than you. Idiot. Stop thinking this instant._

Except, the image still wouldn't leave her head.

"Arhg!" she cried, shoving the pillow back on her face.

Maybe he'd go away if she saw him again.

Logically, Usagi knew that it probably wouldn't help. In actuality, it could potentially make things worse. Still, with the thought having passed through her mind, she gave serious consideration to it. She knew where he lived, and what room was his. She could probably find his balcony easily.

_God, I sound like a stalker!_ she berated, grumbling as she rose from her bed. _I sound like an honest-to-god stalker. What's wrong with me?_

For as much as she yelled at herself, Usagi still found herself blocks away, standing in front of the apartment complex.

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_," she muttered, glaring at the glass doors, as though her mere thought would make them explode. She walked into one of the alleyways and, with a furtive look around, transformed into Sailormoon.

Even with the added confidence and logic she seemed to gain through the transformation, her desire to see Mamoru was as strong as ever. _Maybe even stronger,_ Sailormoon thought, shuddering. She stood in the alley for some time, thinking of how crazy she must be, how she needed to go home and sleep, how he would definitely call the police on her if he knew.

Gritting her teeth, she glanced up, and jumped onto a nearby building. Once she was high enough, she started looking for a familiar room on the correct floor level, spotting it all too quickly.

With another thought at how creepy she was being, Sailormoon leapt onto the railing of the balcony, carefully hiding herself in shadows as she peered inside the sliding glass door.

Inside, she could see the living room, and the couch where he'd tended her wounds. With a shock of surprise, her eyes found the note she'd left still on the table, unfolded and the edges slightly worn. There was even a tear at one of the seams, as though it had been opened and closed several times.

Though still taken aback, Sailormoon easily spotted Mamoru, who was sitting on the floor. He ate from take-out boxes that were scattered on the coffee table, though none very near the letter. His eyes were fixed on the TV screen, but she could see his gaze sometimes waver and float in the direction of the table.

For quite a few minutes, she stood there, half-cloaked in darkness, watching him. Alone, he was much more relaxed than when she'd met him, though that did make sense. She was sure she was the same. He looked less put together with his shirt half untucked and his hair mussed. His stormy blue eyes were half-lidded, though his brows creased in something akin to frustration.

He looked just as beautiful as when she first saw him, she decided vaguely. When she realized what she'd thought, her face flushed with embarrassment. _Thank god no one can read my thoughts_, she mused gratefully. Nothing could be more awkward than that.

When he grabbed the note, Sailormoon nearly jumped. He frowned as he reread it, and stared at it for longer than she would guess it would take him to finish. His mouth moved to echo some of the words, and she could clearly make out her own name as he silently spoke.

There was a pang somewhere near the region of her heart as he brought the paper to his lips and smiled.


	6. Rose

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru  
**Word count:** 2144  
**Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** (AU, U/M) Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Beta-ed by Nell. This, too, was a lot of fun to write. This shows the huge distiction between Usagi and Sailormoon - Sailormoon is a darker, focused, determined version of Usagi, without many of Usagi's ideals, even though the Usagi part gets in Sailormoon's way a lot of the time. Usagi is the conscience, Sailormoon is the action. In a way. Anyway, 'Stalkermoon' was Nell's amused comment at the end of the last chapter, and I had to include it. It was just gold. (Questions regarding Tuxedo Kamen will be addressed at a later date; yes, he _is_ in this. I promise.)

* * *

**  
Chapter Six:**  
_Rose_

Face crimson and breath shallow, Usagi clutched at her chest, leaning against the brick wall of an antique store.

Well. That was unexpected.

Her hand rested on top of her brooch even after she changed back into her normal self. She panted, gasping for air, eyes wide.

_Note to self_, she remarked dryly, _no more spying. Spying equals bad. Even with my low intelligence, I get that._ Suddenly, Usagi shivered, and rubbed at her arms. A cursory glance at her watch told her that it was far too late for her to be out, especially when it was unlikely that any more youma would attack that night.

She swore, dashing home. Thankfully, she was able to make it back without being spotted, collapsing on to her bed after shutting her window for the second time that night.

_No more leaving in the middle of the night_, Usagi decided, _without a good reason to. And that does not include random impulses to practically stalk men I will likely never meet again._ She sighed and threw an arm over her eyes. "Usagi, you moron," she whispered. "You're creepy, and you need to try not to do that again. Because it _was_ creepy, and you know it. Stop being stupid. God - next, they'll be calling you _Stalkermoon_, instead of Sailormoon!"

Thoroughly disgusted with herself, Usagi didn't even bother changing when she turned on her side and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for sleep.

* * *

She blinked blearily, dry eyes unwilling to stay open. She'd slept a grand total of four hours the night before, and after a harsh day of school, Usagi was exhausted. With a groan, she threw her head back, nearly draping herself over the back of the booth. In her left hand, she weakly clutched her melting milk shake and barely made a protest as it slipped from her grasp. She glared up at the person who stole her drink and, even in her sluggish state of mind, widened her eyes in surprise. 

Mamoru, holding the sweating glass in his hand, stared down at her with a smirk on his face. Usagi groaned and laid an arm over her eyes.

"I'm ignoring you," she slurred, drifting between sleep and wakefulness.

"Is that any way to greet the guy who helped you not too long ago?" she heard him ask with something in his voice that made her pause.

"One," she started, moving her arm to narrow her eyes at him, "you forced your help on me, remember? Two, I'm tired and cranky. Go 'way." _Where the hell is Motoki?_ she grumbled to herself darkly. _He's supposed to beat guys off with a bat around me._ She harried a glance around the arcade and saw Motoki grinning at the counter. _Jackass._

Vaguely, Usagi realized that if she was completely awake, she'd be horrified by how much she was swearing in her own mind. The thought made her snicker.

"What are you laughing at?" Mamoru sat on the other side of the booth and, with a shot of indignance, Usagi noticed he was slurping down _her_ drink.

"Hey!" She sat up completely and made a grab for the shake. "That's mine! You can't just steal someone's milk shake!" He calmly held it above his head with an amused smile, too high for Usagi to reach. Well, she could've just stood up, but she was far too tired to even do that. After a couple more attempts, she pouted and slumped against the booth cushions again.

"Jerk."

He raised his eyebrow. "I helped you, remember?"

"Yeah, and you were a jerk about that, too!" she countered petulantly, before rubbing her cheeks. God, she was exhausted.

"Hey, are you okay?" Usagi glanced at Mamoru and saw the same concerned look on his face that he'd had when he accosted her. The memory instantly made her suspicious, and she sat up straighter.

"Oh, no," she warned, pointing at him. "I may be tired, but don't you dare try to pull the concerned thing on me again." Fed up with him, she grabbed her briefcase and staggered to her feet. When Mamoru tried to help her up, she glared at him and shook her arm from his grasp. "I don't need your help," she hissed, stumbling out the door on her own.

Stubbornly, she ignored him as he followed behind her. He was like a great, giant bat, she decided, which brought a small giggle from her lips. Almost belatedly, she dodged another pedestrian after she started to slowly veer to the right. Geez, that was the third in as many minutes. She needed to be more careful.

Careful could wait until after she slept, Usagi grumbled in frustration, waiting for the light to change so she could cross the street. She was very aware of Mamoru standing right behind her, and the fact that he wouldn't leave her alone was beginning to wear on her nerves.

A mere four blocks later, she found herself stopping abruptly and turning on her heel.

"Look here," she said lowly, dark gaze trained on Mamoru, "I get that you feel some bizarre need to help me, god _knows_ why. But I don't need you to follow me, okay? I'll be _fine_." Mamoru stared back impassively. For a few moments, they stood there just like that - Usagi glaring and Mamoru completely unfazed. Then she threw up her arms with a groan and stalked off, mind concentrating on just getting home.

When she walked up the stoop of her home, Usagi didn't even care that Mamoru was still standing by her mailbox. She didn't care that he watched her go into the house. Nor did she care when she entered her room and saw him still staring from her bedroom window. She just cast him a scowl and fell against her bed, squeezing her eyes shut.

It wasn't long until she drifted into a deep, restful sleep.

That is, to say, until an incessant beeping filled her room. Usagi groaned, unwilling to wake up, but the beeps just wouldn't stop. Annoyed, she sat up and looked for the source, vaguely noting that she probably missed dinner, judging by the darkness that had seeped into the room while she slept. When her eyes fell on her communicator, they widened. She scrambled to her feet, quickly shutting her curtains, and turned on a light. She then transformed, thankful that the added internal light hid her transformation from prying eyes.

She pressed the 'confirm' button and Mercury's face popped up on the screen.

"What is it?" she asked, all business.

"There's a youma, down by the jewelry store, Osa-P," Ami panted, glancing to something off screen. "Do you know where that is?"

"Of course I do," Sailormoon replied, annoyed. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Instead of putting the communicator back in her dresser drawer, she just slipped it in the bands of her gloves before heading to her window. She cast a look back to her bedroom door and then her clock, which told her it was just past time she should still be asleep. With a grin, she quietly opened the window and slipped outside.

Thank god she'd taken that nap. Now that she was feeling more energized, anger at Mamoru filled her veins, and she couldn't wait to take it out on a youma. Normally, she'd be disturbed by that thought, but she wasn't feeling quite normal at the moment.

She made it to the store in record time, arriving just as the youma flung Ami into one of the glass cases. Sailormoon winced in sympathy as the ice soldier tried to carefully get back up without cutting herself even more on the broken shards. Turning from her friend, Sailormoon charged her tiara and threw it at the monster, watching as it sliced through one of the arms, ricocheted off a pillar, and returned to her hand.

With its attention focused on her, Sailormoon led the youma to the back room where the money, but nothing breakable, was kept. Grinning darkly, she opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. The bun covers in her hair shook as sonic waves washed from them, the youma flying into the wall and crumbled beneath the waves. It howled in agony, still yelling even after Sailormoon herself had stopped.

Not missing a beat, she slipped her wing-like pins from her hair, throwing them at the monster like darts. Four pinned its limbs, while the other two were both stuck in its legs. With a feral smile, she removed her tiara for the second time that night. The glow of the powered weapon cast a glare on the goggles, obscuring her eyes. Grunting, she let it fly, satisfied as the youma dissolved into powder, sinking into the carpet and walls until it disappeared completely.

She recalled the frisbee and pulled the pins from the wall, sticking them in their proper resting place. She walked out into the major display room, finding not only Ami wounded, but the store owner and her daughter, Osaka Naru. Guilt flashed in her eyes as Sailormoon thought about how she really should've helped them first, before tackling the youma on her own.

_And that_, her mind grumbled, _is exactly why you have to work on your own. Stop with the bleeding heart routine - heal them, then go. Taking out that youma was more important than them, remember?_

She felt vaguely disgusted, but in that moment, Sailormoon wasn't sure if it was because she felt bad for the victims, or because her own attitude was cruel.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she raised the wand she'd retrieved after the battle high above her head. She concentrated merely on healing the other three in the room, letting the soft light mend their wounds. Ami was the first healed, since her uniform protected her far more than the average outfit, followed by Naru's mother. Naru, who appeared to have taken the brunt of the attack, took longer, but was quickly back to normal. The redhead smiled at Sailormoon, causing the unwillingly caustic young woman to grin back.

"You might want to get yourselves checked out," she advised. "I tried my best to heal you, but who knows if I missed something. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"Well done, Sailormoon," she heard a voice commend her, and turned to peer narrowly around. There was a silhouette of a man in one of the high, stained-glass windows, which she regarded suspiciously.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked bluntly, loath to play any games with the mysterious visitor.

There was a silence pause. He turned to the window, before turning his head back to face her. "Is the Illusionary Silver Crystal here?"

"What makes you think I'd tell you if it was?" She was insulted by his imposition. "What do you want with it?" Behind her, she could hear Ami stand to back her up. A part of her felt warm at her friend's gesture.

He chuckled. "What makes you think I'd tell you?" he shot back, turning her own words back on her. She glared. "So, it isn't here, is it?"

Without waiting for a reply, he held out his hand and a stream of fire erupted from his palm. Sailormoon ducked out of the way, pulling Ami down with her. The fire blew over their heads momentarily before dissipating.

Even with the light from outside obstructing the view of his face, she could see a wicked grin bloom there. "I'll see you around, Sailor Soldiers."

Irrational anger rising in her throat, she hissed, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

She sprang into action, dashing for the window as he leapt out of it. She bounded upwards and outside, catching a glimpse of his long, grey legs against the shadows of the night. Clenching her fists harder, she followed as well as she could, but he seemed to know the area better than she. It wasn't long until she lost sight of him, and she punched the building roof in frustration, ignoring the ache in her knuckles and the cracks in the cement when she lifted her hand.

She stood there for a long while afterwards, seething.

Who did he think he was?

When the anger finally drained from her, Sailormoon moved to return home. To her surprise, a rose waited by the edge of the building, a deep red ribbon tied around the stem. An envelope lay below it, the word 'Sailormoon' written in the center like calligraphy. She pulled out the one-sided white card and frowned as her eyes scanned the letters.

'The Silver Crystal will be mine. I'll see you again sometime soon, Soldier of the Moon.'

It was signed with the pseudonym _Fire General_.

The violet-black rose petals crushed between her fingers.


	7. Stagnancy

**Title:** _Overture_  
**Author:** Amarylis Cemetery  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Disclaimer:** All Sailormoon characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko and Toei, etc.; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.  
**Fandom:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon  
**Pairing(s):** Usagi/Mamoru  
**Word count:** 2274  
**Feedback:** Would be lovely. But I'm not going to hunt you down if you don't.  
**Summary:** (AU, U/M) Aware of her status but not of her past, Usagi struggles against the Dark Kingdom, unwilling to allow the senshi into her heart. Will she succeed on her own, or will she be forced to accept their help - and their friendship?  
**Notes:** Beta-ed by Nell. The book referenced in the story is _The Illustrated Guide to Crystals_ by Judy Hall. Usagi's apparent aversion to all things metaphysical does not reflect on me, so _please_ don't get angry at me for it. It just fit with her, you know? So, uh. Yeah. Anyway, the first section of this was a lot of fun to write. : D I liked it very much. Hee.

* * *

**Chapter Seven:**  
_Stagnancy_

Usagi moved through the following week on automatic. Her days were filled with Ami, Luna, school, and the arcade, when she acted like any normal girl would. Her nights were filled with relentless searching, battles, and aching wounds, when she let loose her anger. No matter what she did, she could not find the elusive 'Fire General,' nor could she find anything on the Silver Crystal, whatever that was.

Her hands clenched around the handle of her school bag. Frustrated with her slow progress, she felt like throwing it down an alley somewhere, but dutifully refrained. Absolutely nothing had turned up, and it was, quite frankly, driving her mad. Although sorely tempted to throw a temper tantrum, Usagi composed herself as she tried to pay attention to Ami, who walked by her side.

"Usagi, are you okay?"

She flinched, knowing she'd been caught. Usagi kept her eyes lowered as she laughed off Ami's concern. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired." She did, however, manage to give her friend a dazzling smile.

Ami eyed her unbelievingly, frowning. "If you say so."

Usagi's hands tightened ever so slightly. She hesitantly started, "I think... I think I'm going to go home now. I need to finish my school work and maybe take a nap. Since I'm tired and everything." She felt inexplicably guilty about abandoning Ami like this when they were supposed to spend time together, but Usagi really wanted to read through the books she'd gotten on stones. "Maybe we could go some other time?" she added hopefully.

"All right," said Ami, and though Usagi wouldn't look her in the face, she definitely sounded disappointed.

"Well, in that case," Usagi continued brightly, "I expect to get a call from you soon, Ami. I'll see you later, okay?"

Ami consented, bidding Usagi goodbye. She waved as the blonde turned a corner to head home.

She briskly returned home, her face set with determination. She had to find out what it was the man had been after. Of course, she could've tried to ask Luna as Sailormoon, but she assumed that Luna would expect her to know already, as she was the 'Princess' guardian.' It was something important, though; she knew that instinctively. But what its significance was remained unknown. It was times like these that Usagi wished she could contact the Queen.

As she turned the final corner to her home and the sun was nearly set, her ears caught the faint sound of footsteps behind her. Normally, she wouldn't find it strange, but she'd been on edge for days - not to mention the fact that the rest of the area was completely deserted. Tensing, she sped up, and cringed as the footsteps quickened.

Breaking out into a full run, she ducked between two of the houses, behind the trash, and peeked out. The footsteps slowed, then stopped. Usagi held her breath. Someone was murmuring to himself quietly, but still out of her view. She cursed inwardly and made her way to the opening of the narrow passage.

Unfortunately, true to form, Usagi stumbled on the edge of something (which she later realized was a cardboard box that was sticking out too far) and, though she didn't fall, alerted her pursuer.

"Shit," she hissed softly, pressing her body against the building wall so she almost thought she was a pancake. A small part of her was kicking herself for swearing.

To say that she was surprised when she saw Mamoru's face peer down the alley was an understatement.

Rage boiled in her chest, angry that she'd thought he was the Fire General come to track her down and kill her. More than that, though, she was embarrassed that she'd overreacted so much, but she blamed it on the Queen's training. Still, her fists clenched and she swung her bag at his head, barely missing.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" she cried, trembling with fury. "Why are you following me? Are you a stalker or something?"

Mamoru, still ducking from her attempt to injure him, glared. "I was making sure you got home okay!"

"Oh, please," Usagi scoffed. "I don't need a babysitter. I can handle myself. You have _no right_ to protect me or _whatever_ it is you're trying to do! It's creepy!" She was painfully reminded of her _own_ stalker tendancy (at least, concerning him), but roughly pushed the thought to the back of her mind. This was getting just a little insane.

He backed away from her. "I just wanted for you to get home safely." He glanced down at the bag she still clutched tightly in her hand. "Though, apparently, you have an idea of how to fend people off." The amusement in his voice only further fueled her anger.

"What, you think this is funny?" she hissed into his face, drawing herself up to her full height and advancing on him. "I should get a restraining order, or _something_! You can _leave me alone_ now, you - you creepy, stalking pain in the neck! I don't need your help, and I _certainly_ don't want it!"

There was some emotion that flashed across his face briefly, before it went blank. Usagi felt a little guilty as she realized she'd hurt him somehow, but the shame and indignity still colored her mind, too angry to really feel sorry yet.

Huffing, she turned away and headed home, unable to say another word to him. _I don't need someone to watch over me_, she grumbled in her mind. _The whole guardian thing is wearing on my nerves! First Luna, now Mamoru. What's next - Ami's going to realize who I am and not let me out of her sight?_ She seethed, pride wounded. _Why doesn't anyone get that I can protect myself?_

Ignoring the soft, trailing steps behind her, Usagi stalked up to her house and slammed the door behind her.

* * *

It wasn't too long until Usagi left her home again. She excused herself from dinner by telling her mother that she needed to do studying at the library, quickly changed out of her school uniform, and gathered her notes from previous visits. With a quick farewell, she started off towards the nearest library, the bag with her supplies slung over her shoulder.

When she arrived, she nodded to the woman at the counter and made her way towards the back of the building. After setting her bag done, Usagi wandered down one of the aisles, stopping about midway, then glanced over the book titles. Finding one she hadn't seen before, she picked the book out of the row, swiftly putting the book's neighbors in her mind so she could return it to the same spot.

She flipped through the book as she walked back to her table, frowning as she scanned some of the pages. She sat down with a thump on her seat and scowled. The book was mostly metaphysical stuff - though, a lot of the other books had been, as well. Still, she kept flipping the pages, rolling her eyes at the 'Crystal Love' section.

_Soulmate stone?_ She snickered in her mind. Her eyes glanced over the pink stone (named kunzite) and both jade stones (jadeite and nephrite, respectively), before she moved onto the next page. Stopping momentarily to marvel at the picture of an amethyst geode, she once again turned the page. Usagi raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the healing stones pages, before shaking her head and concentrated on looking for the phrase, 'Silver Illusionary Crystal.' She did have to admit, though, that the rose quartz and selenite was rather pretty. Usagi wasn't very fond of the golden beryl, however.

As her eyes landed on the divination section, Usagi gave up, flipping to the back of the book in hopes of an index. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found it, and instead looked through there. She skipped the brown stones completely, knowing that it was a _silver_ crystal she was looking for. To her disappointment, there was nothing even remotely close in the white or clear stones, and dejectedly looked through the rest of the book.

Sighing, Usagi stood and returned the book to its former place. _That was no help_, she thought to herself, mildly depressed. _That's the, what, seventh book I've looked through? There aren't many left._ With a sigh, she resolved herself to the idea of having to go look in the bookstores for something appropriate.

By the time her watch signalled ten, Usagi had looked through two more books (both of which were fairly thick), with no success. She slammed the cover of her last book shut, teeth clenched in aggravation. Without even bothering to put the book back, she grabbed her bag and stormed out, ignoring the tired woman at the front desk. She then ducked into an alleyway and transformed into Sailormoon without skipping a beat.

Sailormoon shoved the bag in the holding place she kept her weaponry (which currently only consisted of the crescent wand, so there was a lot of space left) and hopped up ledges to reach the roof of the library. She bounced off of the roof and landed on another, glancing down into the spaces between for unusual activity.

A part of her was glad it was a Saturday night, as she headed into the more populated areas of the city. Not only did she not have school the next day, but she would be able to stay out later without alerting her parents. That, and she'd be able to sleep in a little the next day before returning to the library.

Another part of her was annoyed, she decided, as her eyes caught the scene of two people groping each other in a dark alley. More people were out now, and she nearly sighed as she remembered that Saturday nights were always heavy with youma activity. Not that there was much she could do about it except fight back, Sailormoon acknowledged, lips twisted into a semblance of a grin.

Suddenly, her bun covers shook, the screams of another victim reaching her ears. With a sigh, she tapped the edge of her mask and sped off to destroy the youma.

* * *

Tiredly, Sailormoon leaned against the tree behind her, panting as the last of the dust faded away. The girl who'd been attacked had run off the moment she was able to, so Sailormoon didn't have to worry about her, at least. But she didn't really care about that right now, almost too exhausted to think straight.

She took off the mask and rubbed at her eyes, trying to tear up a little to soothe the hot dryness away. Unsuccessful, she replaced the white mask over her face and fought to keep her eyes open. She rubbed her cheeks and pushed herself off of the tree, deciding that this would be a good time to return home. _And sleep_, she thought vaguely._ Sleep would be good._

Laughter filled her ears. Sailormoon tensed. A dark, malicious intent was laced in the sound. _God, I don't have the energy for this. Dammit._ Annoyance bubbled up in her chest, fueling her if only slightly.

"You should never let your guard down," a voice chided after the laughter ended.

Sailormoon scowled, recognizing the voice as belonging to the so-called Fire General. "Oh, please," she said, scoffing. "You purposefully waited until I was too tired to fight back. It has nothing to do with my guard being down." She could see his silhouette down the path, probably a good five hundred feet away from her.

"You're smarter than you look," he admitted. "But no matter. You won't be able to get away this time."

"This time?" Sailormoon laughed derisively. "I've never run from your minions. I've always won, and you know it."

"Attack." His voice trembled with anger (and most likely shame), causing youma seeming to materialize from nowhere.

Sailormoon cursed, retreating into the shadows as the monsters made their advance. She backed into something hard and stiffened, jumping away quickly as claws aimed for her head. Swearing, she ran down the path, too spent to fight back. As protection, she removed her tiara, letting it form the donut-like frisbee. She held it like a circular dagger, ready to attack hand-to-hand but without the energy to throw it.

She hadn't gotten far before a youma made a swipe at her. She bit her lip as the sharp claws just scraped through her armor and into her back, throwing herself to the side. As she rolled to a stop, she jumped back onto her feet.

Unfortunately, she was a little too slow, and another youma threw a dark ball of energy at her. She nearly screamed as the dark lightning laced through her body and fell to the ground when it wore off. She raised her eyes from the ground to see no less than four youma advancing on her again, and she ducked behind the closest shrubbery.

_Oh, god_. She screwed her eyes shut, hand gripping the tiara so tight that it cut through her gloves to dig into her skin. _Someone, I need help. I need help!_ Sailormoon cursed herself as she realized she'd left the communicator in her school briefcase, which was currently in her room at home. _Somebody, help me_, she pleaded, feeling the energy drain from her in the few seconds that she had left. The youma would attack any second now, and -

A gurgled, unearthly sound came from behind. Surprised, she turned to peer out of the spaces between the leaves.

There was a man in a top hat and cloak fending off the youma.

And winning.


End file.
